


The Innkeeper

by rahelawriter



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crying, Drabble, Elves, Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, First Meetings, Hot Weather, Inns, Light Angst, Other, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert, Reunions, Safe Haven, Speculation, Trailer Spoilers, Water
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-01
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-30 03:59:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18307760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rahelawriter/pseuds/rahelawriter
Summary: An adventurer on the verge of passing out from the First Shard's eternal day finds shelter and a familiar face.





	The Innkeeper

**Author's Note:**

> This is all just speculation on my part that will probably be invalidated once Shadowbringers is actually out. Those little hobbit houses in Il Mheg might not be inns, and they might be totally abandoned. There's no way of knowing for sure at this point in time. And I don't want to get too attached to the idea of the First having its own Haurchefant, (and he wouldn't have that same name anyway because different world means different naming conventions) but this mental image would not leave my mind.

In better circumstances, you might have been utterly enchanted by this land, exploring the wild, colorful, fairy tale-like scenery of Il Mheg. But instead it’s misery; as kind as the gift had been, you’re sweltering in the hot leather armor that Tataru had made for you. The endless sunlit days are agony, and you think you might feel a heat stroke coming on. That’s when you spot it: just down the paved road is an aetheryte, and cradling it is a wood and stone structure, built into the ground itself.

An inn!

Mustering what’s left of your stamina, you make a sprint for it, panting heavily as the inn grows closer, closer,  _closer…_ There, you reach and run past the aetheryte; there will be time for attunement later, all you want right now is to rest and free yourself from this heat. With one last desperate shove, you _heave_  the inn’s wooden double doors open.

Gasping with relief at being indoors, your eyes only see two things: an indistinct figure at the wooden counter turning to notice your sudden entrance, and more importantly, a ceramic table with a chair. In a single stride you launch yourself towards it, and collapse onto the stool. Immediately you slump forward and rest your warm face on the cool stone, and set about undoing your scarf and cape, dropping them at your side. Off go the armor and belts and outermost layers of your jacket, and you’re about to tug off your boots as well when a clearing of the throat reminds you that you’re not alone in this inn. It’s a male voice that then addresses you, and then your heart stops.

“By all means, friend, make yourself comfortable in the shade, but at least allow me to provide you some refreshments first!”

You raise your head to look at him, breath held, and your eyes fall upon an elf with a kind and sweet and  _achingly familiar_  face. The angular features, the aquiline nose, the soft blue hair gently falling in front of his narrow eyes… The attire is simple; a mere short-sleeved shirt, a pair of loose slops, and an apron over it. He gives you a smile as he places one of two glasses of ice-chilled water in front of you, but you can’t take your eyes off of him.

The elf, noticing the shocked look on your face, sits on the stool beside yours with his own glass of water, and continues in a personable manner, “Now, I know what you may be thinking; ‘it would be far more practical to abandon your family’s inn and move to the safety of the Crystarium.’ I hear that quite a lot, and I suppose the logic is sound. But it’s not only for the sentimental value that I stay here; an innkeeper is still needed here. The journey to Crystarium is a long and perilous one, that countless others are already undertaking; were I not here to provide shade, shelter, and succor for the refugees coming through, they may very well perish on the way to their haven! So right glad am I to have this as my lot in life; humble, to be sure, yet so fulfilling…”

He pauses, then looks right into your eyes.

“To grant the weary adventurer a sanctuary where they might rest and regain their strength, and to greet them with a smile.”

Tears drip from your eyes, and you rasped out, words barely audible as the corners of your mouth turned upward into a smile that better suited a hero.

_“To aid those in need…”_

**Author's Note:**

> He offers ice water instead of hot chocolate, because he's in a hot place instead of a snowy place! ;w;


End file.
